While my Aunt Mary was running the Tinkerbell Half Marathon
in 2014, I was on the ChEAR Squad. Equipped as a gold level participant, I was
given access to places on Main Street, U.S.A. and a seating area at the finish
line. I also received a bag of stuff including a noise maker, a waterproof
blanket and a t-shirt.
After reading the other blogs about the trouble people had
getting their stuff during the Disneyland Marathon, my aunt and I decided to
wait until Saturday to get our gear. There were no problems. The crowd was
small and the process was easy.
We visited the expo where Jeff Galloway, the Disney run
trainer who uses “run-walk-run” as his motto, was holding court at a booth, and
the first Tinkerbell Margaret Kerry was on stage reading excerpts from Peter Pan. There were samples galore,
and plenty of people, so the lines were long for everything. With long being a
relative term related to what was being offered.
The day of the race, morning came super early. I walked with
my aunt to the race entry where she went in, and I continued down Disney Drive
to set up for the start of the race. Fortunately, Eden Roc Inn and Suites was
super close to the race area.
Announcers that I couldn’t see as a spectator launched each
run group a through F, separated by race times. They were off.
I signed up for updates by text message for my runner, but
they never came. I was fortunate enough to catch her on video and to see her on
Main Street, U.S.A. but didn’t see her again until we met back at the hotel.
Being on Main Street was cool. The crowd of spectators was
extremely small, and I could get a sense of what was being offered to the race
participants, including photo ops with King Louie, his entourage, and the Terk
from Tarzan. At the end of Main
Street, Tinkerbell stood high on a float with Captain Hook below.
At the end of the race, announcers kept up a constant
chatter and could tell who was crossing the finish line by name. There was even
a marriage proposal after one of the women finished with her race.
If you are going to support a runner, the ChEAR squad is the
way to go. Until it gets too popular, you will enjoy the perks. Platinum
members looked like they got plusher seats and a good breakfast in the bargain.
Check out my Aunt’s run blog as she goes for her coast to
coast award.